Is KuCoin Safe to Use?

I was chatting in Discord today rather than creating content for Steemit. This seems to be a frequent problem lately. But an article posted by someone raised some concerns about the cryptocurrency exchange – KuCoin.

KuCoin lists their address as being in Hong Kong, which makes them appear to be exempt from China’s crack down on Cryptocurrencies. The problem is that the address listed by KuCoin appears to simply be a virtual mail box, rather than the address of a bricks and mortar business.

So it would seem that KuCoin has no real presence in Hong Kong. The article then states that KuCoin are hiring staff in Sichuan, China. So appear to be operating their exchange out of China. If this is the case, then it places them in the firing line of China’s crackdown on cryptocurrency websites and domestic exchanges.

Even more concerning, however, is that the author of this article actually visited the office in Hong Kong that KuCoin has listed as their address. The employees in office are working for a different company that isn’t affiliated with KuCoin, who had never heard of them.

KuCoin is registered under a secretarial company called Smart Team Secretarial Ltd who once operated out of this office, however the employees of this office stated that this company had moved out years ago.

So what does all of this mean?

My main concern is that KuCoin are operating from an unknown location and are potentially operating out of China, which puts them at risk of China’s current crack down on cryptocurrency trading, websites and exchanges.

“Dear KuCoin Users,There have been rumors that KuCoin’s central office in Hong Kong is empty. In fact, KuCoin’s public address in Hong Kong is merely a mailing address of one of KuCoin’s many subsidiary companies. KuCoin Headquarters is in Singapore. KuCoin has always been a global firm, with over 300 employees and four major offices in China, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand.

KuCoin has been growing at an incredible speed and will be growing even faster in future. We are grateful for all of the support from our community and stay tuned for some incredible news which we will release soon.

So it would seem that KuCoin at least are trying to be somewhat transparent. It still leaves a little to be desired since they haven’t listed their physical locations. But it does give us a little confidence that they are willing to address the concerns raised.

Will I continue to use KuCoin for my trading? Yes. Will I leave my coins on the exchange? Absolutely not.